The City of Ottawa contracted TRA to assess the safe return to service and associated planning for OC Transpo’s Confederation Light Rail Line 1 after the agency implemented a safety shutdown in response to two mainline derailments. TRA’s team completed an independent assessment of risk analyses, safety management system (SMS) programs, engineering assessments, quality assurance and control, and the overall safe return to service plan.
In addition to SMS, the technical areas of TRA’s assessment have included: rail vehicle engineering, maintenance, quality control, quality assurance, and configuration management; infrastructure repair documentation, testing, and validation; and rail transit operations and training.
TRA’s work included nuanced technical analysis of the return to service plan and engineering submittals. TRA provided updates to the city manager and city council, as well as field verification and witnessing of engineering works and testing, field and shop verification and oversight of light rail vehicle quality processes, and independent assessment of overall safety and SMS processes.
Ongoing work focuses on verifying implementation of the safe return to service plan through focused monitoring, auditing, and on-site verification. TRA will assist OC Transpo in developing a comprehensive and robust oversight methodology to enhance contract compliance, safety, and service reliability.
